Arafat Samples Taken Without Removing Body from Tomb

Slightly more than eight years after the death of Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Yasser Arafat, samples were removed from his remains, Tuesday morning, for testing to determine if he was poisoned, according to a PA source cited by Agence France Presse. The testing was requested after testing, during the summer, of Arafat's clothing showed elevated levels of the radioactive element polonium.

The source said that only a PA doctor was allowed to directly touch the remains and remove the samples, but that the process was conducted in front of Swiss, Russian and French experts. A source told AFP "The samples were taken from Arafat's remains from inside the grave and the samples were then transferred to the mosque," referring to a building adjacent to the Muqataa government complex in Ramallah. The tomb was then resealed.